


Don't Tell Me It's Over

by stelleshine



Series: Bali [13]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: And it all comes tumbling down..., M/M, bali, not so secret relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 22:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7241560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelleshine/pseuds/stelleshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything catches up with Michael and Luke in a way they're definitely not expecting. </p><p>OR</p><p>Everything is burning and no one can find a fire extinguisher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Tell Me It's Over

Luke let out a soft groan, his grip on the air sickness bag in his hands tightening, and he pressed his face into Michael’s throat.

“Babe,” Michael murmured, arm wrapped around Luke’s wide shoulders, and lips pressed to his forehead. “S’okay.”

Luke disagreed – and had ever since The Incident had gone down. It was all he could think about, the words that had been spat between his band and the professionals hired to take care of their careers. And for the most part, Luke had put his faith in their management team. They’d had some great times over the years, and never once did he feel like he wasn’t in safe hands.

But for some reason, the moment their tour management called a band meeting after their sound check in Manila to tell them they had an urgent skype meeting with their management the following morning before their flight, Luke was nervous.

He was nervous because Zoe didn’t really give anything away, and she didn’t have the time to stand there while four young men ask her thousands of questions that she couldn’t answer, so Luke is left to ponder it alone with his bandmates. He finally just decided to listen to Ashton when he suggested they just try and forget about it, and focus on their interviews for the afternoon, and giving their Filipino fans one hell of a show that night. 

So that’s what Luke does.

They dick around in their interviews and eat some incredible Filipino food before they gear up for their final show of the Asian leg, and Luke manages to forget about the meeting so he could focus on how sad he felt about it. He’d spent do much of their time in Asia feeling like shit and trying to force himself to seem better than he was, and he hated his shitty immune system immensely.

His head was still trying to catch up with everything to come – his plan to fly home to Sydney with Michael to find a place to live – then the UK tour, followed by the rest of the world, and Luke could only hope that his body held out long enough for him to _enjoy_ it all.

So he enjoys what he can, and the party after the show seemed to sum up the entire tour, and he went to bed satisfied.

He woke up to the memory of the skype meeting, and for some reason, he felt dread settle inside of him. He had a flight to catch with Calum and Michael, and they were up before the sun and without having to say a word, Luke could tell that Michael was a little off about the meeting too.

It didn’t really let up as they ate breakfast together, the four of them trading memories of the night before and actively avoiding talking about the meeting, before the van arrived to load their luggage and they were being directed to a conference room in the hotel, with a large screen set up and four chairs in front of it.

 He takes one between Ashton and Michael – Michael on his right, their hands joined on Luke’s knee – and Calum is grumbling as he takes his on the other side of Michael. He had his cup of coffee in his hand and his sunglasses on, and it’s clear that his hangover from the night before is taking up all of his time.

Luke wished he could be as distracted, his left leg bouncing as he chewed almost obsessively on his lower lip.

By the time their tour manager arrives wearing sunglasses herself and scowling at the computer screen from behind them, his stomach is doing flips and Michael’s hands are squeezed so tightly around his fingers that he can’t feel his fingertips anymore.

It’s another few minutes before the screen is flickering to life, and Luke can see the fuzzy shapes of their management team. He’s had a lot of good times with them, and he could remember one of the first, when his mum had grilled them before she was willing to let him go on the One Direction tour.

He could remember rolling his eyes in embarrassment, and insisting that it was _his_ decision to go, and not _hers_ , but she had shushed him and gave their management a stern talking to before she was happy to see her baby get on a plane to conquer the world.

Luke was certain this meeting wasn’t going to be one he wanted to remember.

“Boys!”

Calum grunted, and Luke coughed while Ashton and Michael raised their hands in a wave.

“I hear good things,” the man to the left of the screen exclaimed. “How’d the show go last night?”

“Great,” Ashton answered, always the band spokesman.

Luke was incredibly grateful for his ability to function.

“Now a few weeks off before the UK tour, yes?” the other man said in his rolling British accent.

“Yeah, a few,” Ashton confirmed, nodding his head.

“Right, well, we should get down to business.”

Luke watched as they beckoned to someone off screen, and all of a sudden another two people crowded into the picture, the four of them looking as cramped as Luke and his friends.

They were vaguely familiar, but Luke couldn’t place them. They looked British, though Luke wasn’t sure what gave him that impression. They were wearing suits and had edgy haircuts and for some reason, they reminded Luke of Louis Tomlinson, and that’s when it all sunk in.

They were PR representatives from Modest, not the guys Luke and his band were used to dealing with, but they were very familiar with them, through second hand information from their big brother band.

Luke could remember how much Louis hated them, and Luke’s stomach plummeted.

“Hi boys,” one of the men greeted, and Luke had been right – British. “We need to talk about Luke and Michael’s personal relationship.”

Luke felt the flush creep up his throat to his cheeks, and he looked down at his knees momentarily as Michael squeezed his hand.

“It’s come to our attention that the two of you have decided to pursue your relationship publicly, and while we wished we had been bought in earlier, this will just have to do,” the other man said.

“What’s it got to do with you?”

Luke cringed at the sound of Michael’s voice, and things were falling apart at the seams already.

“Are you aware that there have been multiple incidents reported to your tour manager from your Asian representatives over the last few weeks?”

Luke’s head shot up and looked from the screen to Zoe, who was still wearing her sunglasses.

“And are you also aware that Luke’s girlfriend is also spreading salacious rumours online?”

“Ex,” Luke mumbled, and felt instantly stupid for saying it. Like the status of his relationship with his ex was important at a time like this.

“Regardless,” the British man insisted, crossing his arms over the table they were seated behind. “We’re taking a stand. Your decision to go public is your prerogative, but it is clear that leaving it in your hands hadn’t been the best course of action.”

“What are you _talking_ about?” Michael demanded, his face creased into a frown.

“Without going into too much detail,” the American Modest rep began, “you’ve been caught in _compromising_ situations,” he finished. “I don’t wish to list them, as I’m sure you’re quite aware.”

Luke’s face was _burning_ , and he could remember how reckless they’d been, from the hand job in Kuala Lumpur to the making out backstage and feeling each other up after sound checks. They’d been _stupid_ , and the idea that people not only saw but _reported_ them, made him feel incredibly foolish and exposed.

“So what we’ve decided is to shove it back into the little box you’ve kept it in for four years,” the British rep announced. “You are under a microscope right now, and the people controlling that microscope are your fans and your co-workers. Now, your fans are siding with your _ex_ girlfriend, and your touring family should not be privy to things appropriate for the bedroom.”

“Excuse me,” Michael interrupted, a scowl on his face. “This is none of your business!”

“I’m afraid you’re _wrong_ , Mr Clifford,” the American rep said haughtily. “It’s our business when we received complaints from your Asian reps, and people who aren’t aware of your relationship. It’s our business when things circulate online that we can’t squash with a simple decision.”

“Okay, so we’ve been really stupid,” Michael conceded. “But it’s _our_ relationship.”

“And you signed contracts with us to keep things like this under wraps,” he responded.

“When we were sixteen!” Michael responded angrily.

“We know a little bit more about this than you do,” the British rep added. “We’ve been doing this a long time, and it _works_.”

“Oh, really?” Michael scoffed. “Have you asked Harry or Louis how great it _works_?”

“That’s enough,” the American rep intoned, ignoring Michael completely. “This is our heavily recommended suggestion. Michael and Calum return to Australia as planned. Luke and Ashton head for LA. Luke, you’ll contact your ex, smooth things over and we’ll set up some paparazzi photo opportunities of the two of you. That should take care of the fan upset. The public affection between the two of you will stop, but of course you’re welcome to pursue a relationship in your private time.”

The words sounded hollow, and Luke had mostly tuned them out as he started to pant, the panic settling in his chest. What they were saying was _ridiculous_ , and it was illegal or immoral or _whatever,_ because they couldn’t just tell him and Michael not to date, or that they had to hide who they really were.

He was broken out of his thoughts of the sounds of Michael _yelling_ , and he flinched.

“You can’t fucking do this!” Michael yelled, leaning forward on his chair. “No, we won’t do that. Luke and I are going home, and that’s it!”

Everything seemed to pause for a few long moments. The room was so silent that Luke was sure he could’ve heard a pin drop. The sound came back slowly; from Michael’s harsh, desperate breaths, and muted sounds from outside the conference room, and then, the sound of Luke _gasping._

“If you’d like to calm down,” the British rep drawled sarcastically, letting out a pointed sigh. “It’s in your best interest to entertain this idea we’ve put forward. If career longevity is what you’re aiming for.”

“Fuck you!” Michael demanded. “You’re not telling us how to live our lives.”

“Michael,” Ashton cautioned tiredly.

“No!” Michael demanded angrily. “We’re not sitting here and letting two guys we don’t even know, control our life!”

“Michael,” Luke said, his voice hoarse, reaching out for his hand. “Stop.”

“No!”

Luke looked at him, and he was trying so hard to hang onto his emotions, because the last thing he was going to do was _cry_.

Michael sighed, squeezing his hand and his shoulders slumped.

“This may seem harsh,” the American rep said. “But it’s for the best. We need to nip this in the bud, and this is how we do it. This is the only way.”

Luke sniffed, running his fingertips against his nose. “This isn’t fair.”

“Maybe you guys should…think about it.”

Luke’s head flew towards Ashton, and the older man looked sheepish.

“I’m just saying,” he said defensively. “We should’ve talked to them from the start.”

“So you want us to break up?” Michael spat angrily, this time directed at Ashton.

“No!” Ashton demanded, frowning. “But maybe you should listen to these guys. They know what they’re doing.”

“Oh, so you haven’t talked to Louis?” Michael demanded. “You haven’t heard him call them fucking pricks because he’s not _allowed_ to be with the man he loves? Screw you, Ashton.”

One of the guys from their management team – who’d been silent the entire time – cleared his throat. “We don’t want you to feel like you can’t be together,” he said slowly. “We need to think of your public image, and we need to rein it in before it gets out of control.”

“Which is why there is an apology letter, to your Asian reps and touring crew.”

“An _apology_?” Michael demanded incredulously. “For _what_?”

“It’s very simple,” the British rep said flippantly. “Just that you’re apologetic for letting your personal relationship get in the way of your professional duties, and how much you have enjoyed working with each and every member of your touring family.”

“So we have to apologize for being gay?” Michael demanded.

“It’s an apology for letting the lines blur,” the rep amended. “That you are professionals, that the displayed behaviour is not the norm.”

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Michael muttered incredulously.

“It’s a solid plan,” one of the men insisted. “We feel that if you stick to this, we can take care of any pressing problems that might arise.”

“Are you going to _say_ anything?”

Luke looked up at Michael to see the other man’s eyes blazing with anger and they were directed at him. “I, uh, I don’t know.”

“They’re telling you to date her again!”

“I know,” Luke said quietly.

“So do you have anything to _say_?”

“What do you want me to say?” Luke demanded, his voice wobbling. “Do you think I _want_ this? After all we’ve been through over the past few months, do you think I _want_ this?”

“That’s enough,” Calum said suddenly, standing up. “Fuck you guys,” he insisted, leaning over towards the camera so most of his face took up the screen.

“Calum, sit down,” Ashton sighed. “We may not like it, but it’s something to consider.”

“Fuck you Ash,” Michael spat. “You’re as bad as them.”

“Fuck you right back!” Ashton demanded. “Jesus Christ, if you two hadn’t been fucking all over Asia we might not be here.”

Michael looked like he was going to launch over Luke and punch Ashton in the jaw, and Luke was tempted to let him.

At the last moment he grabbed Michael’s wrist, holding him where he was before he looked at Ashton. “Was it you that reported us?”

Ashton’s face twisted into an expression of pain. “What? _No_ , Luke. Jesus, I wouldn’t do that to you guys.”

“We’ll organize a meet for LA once you’re all back in town before the UK leg begins,” the American rep said. “We’ll let you go.”

Michael grabbed Calum’s coffee cup out his hand and pegged it at the screen before it went black, plunging the room into silence as the screen fell backwards and the coffee was sprayed everywhere, and Luke liked it.

It was a final fuck you to the men on the other side of the world, and while it wasn’t enough, it was _something_.

“You’ll have to pay for that,” Calum said quietly.

“I don’t fucking care,” Michael snapped, slumping down into his chair.

Everyone was quiet for what felt like forever, as Michael pulled Luke’s chair towards him and pressed his face into Luke’s throat. He could feel the wetness of the other man’s tears, and Luke let a few go himself, his eyes crushed shut.

He heard a chair sliding against carpet as someone got up and let themselves out of the room, but Luke didn’t care enough to see who. It felt like this was _it,_ that once they left the room, Michael wasn’t his anymore, and he wasn’t Michael’s.

And Luke didn’t know what to _do_ about that.

It felt like an hour later, or maybe just a few minutes when a hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked up at Calum.

“I’m sorry.”

Luke nodded, feeling his shoulders shake, and he cupped the back of Michael’s neck, giving it a gentle squeeze.

The man sat up, rubbing his forearm under his nose, his eyes red. “We have to go?”

“Yeah,” Calum said quietly, sunglasses perched on the top of his head. “I gave you to the last possible second.”

Luke chewed on his bottom lip, noticing that the room was empty apart from the three of them, and he looked down, feeling a few more tears sliding down his cheeks, his fingers laced with Michael’s.

“You don’t have to do this,” Calum said, even though the three of them new it was futile.

“S’okay,” Michael rasped, getting to his feet and pulled Luke up with him. “Can we just get another second?”

“Yeah,” Calum said softly, squeezing Michael’s shoulder. “I’ll knock when we have to go.”

Luke waited until they were alone before curling his arms tightly around Michael. “I don’t want to go,” he whispered shakily. “I don’t want this to be happening.”

“Me either,” Michael said, swallowing thickly. “We were meant to be finding a place to live, and now we’re what? Breaking up?”

“No,” Luke whimpered. “Please, I don’t want that. I don’t want to break up.”

“Maybe we need to be honest with ourselves,” Michael said despondently. “We’ve been really stupid these past few weeks.”

“That doesn’t mean we should break up!”

“They want you to date her again.”

Luke wanted to pull his hair out and scream the walls down. He didn’t _want_ this. “I’m not leaving here if we’re going to break up,” he said flatly. “I swear to _God_ , Michael, I will strap myself to this fucking chair if you break up with me.”

Michael cupped his cheeks and kissed him gently, their noses bumping gently. “I love you so much.”

Luke could feel the anxiety rolling through his stomach as he pressed his face into Michael’s neck. “I love you too,” he whispered. “Which is why I won’t do it.”

Michael pulled back, his hands on Luke’s shoulders as he frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

Luke bit down on his lip ring, feeling his fingers start to shake. “I’m not doing what they said,” he whispered. “I’m not going back to LA with Ashton, I’m going home with you.”

**

“What if they _sue_ us?”

Michael hummed softly, squeezing Luke’s shoulder. They were curled up in their business class seats, Calum across the aisle, and Luke had been slowly panicking since taking off an hour before. Since he’d told Zoe _thanks, but no thanks_ to the Modest guys in LA, there was one thing he wasn’t sacrificing for his career, and that was his relationship with Michael.

Ashton hadn’t been happy – Luke had never fought with him like that before – and he had six apologetic text messages before he’d filed onto the plane behind Michael. They were all _scared_ , unsure of how to proceed, and Luke had assured his friend that things would be fine, but he had to go with his heart, and believed he could have both – Michael _and_ the band.

“They’re not going to sue us,” Michael murmured softly, prying the sickness bag out of Luke’s hands.

He’d been clinging to it since take off, almost positive that his nerves were going to revolt against him and have him gagging into it at some point. But he let Michael tuck it into the back of the seat in front of him, and let out an exhausted sigh into his boyfriend’s neck.

“Babe, I’m so _proud_ of you,” Michael murmured softly. “For standing up for us, for _me_.”

“You’re worth it,” Luke sighed tiredly, the emotions of the morning catching up to him, and the exhaustion was pulling him apart slowly. “I know we’ve been stupid,” he mumbled. “But I’m not giving you up.”

Michael smiled, tugging Luke in closer as the younger man dropped off to sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this has taken so long! I hope this part makes up for it, but it's pretty heavy so you maybe might be mad at me after it, and if so, I'm sorry! I hope you all like it, and I promise it won't take me a month to get the next one up!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read Kaleidoscope, and the rest of the series, and special thanks to thominhoplease, calumhoodsgloriousnudes, cocopopclifford, Skagger, irwah, Lu_Clemmings, asickburn0ut, raspyvocals, D_6897, Stacey, DyeMyHairGalaxy1995 & Renee for the comments on the last part!
> 
> xoxo


End file.
